Speech Pathologists & Audiologists in Louisiana Schools, Inc.
P.O. Box 12177
Lake Charles, LA 70612
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Speech Pathologists & Audiologists in Louisiana Schools, Inc. |
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2006 Legislative Action Information Final Legislative Update - June 21 2006 The final update is simply we did not prevail, despite our, Michael Thibodeaux’s, SPALS Lobbyist, and Senator Gautreuax’s efforts. The amendment to fund the Salary Supplement for ASHA certified SLP/AUD public school personnel made by Senator Gautreaux was stripped from House Bill one before being sent to the full senate for approval. At that point the Senator Heitmeier, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, prohibited any floor amendments to the bill. The final blow came when it was determined there would not be a conference committee to address differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Therefore, there was no opportunity for a last minute amendment. Senator Gautreaux was very disappointed and in fact angry that his amendment was removed from the list of amendments to House Bill One before exiting the Senate Finance Committee. Mr. Thibodeaux has spoken to Senator Gautreaux and he indicated he is already developing plans to obtain the funding next session, specifically to obtain some co-authors. Mr. Thibodeaux has indicated his approach will be to get administration support and he is planning on meeting with Superintendent Picard and with members of the Governor’s administration. In addition we will need to continue developing relationships with as many legislators as possible. I feel that each school system should plan to approach their local representatives and senators as a group. All SLPs and Auds should come together and let their legislators know how they feel about this issue. This will provide legislators with a more personal connection to our goal. These meetings should occur early and often both by groups and by individuals. We had a very good level of participation his year via e-mails, however, we need a great deal more and we need a great deal more participation and a more concerted effort during events like “Day at the Capitol”. Next year we will improve our communication with members. I received e-mails very late in the session indicating entire parishes did not know we were once again actively pursuing the Salary Supplement. Finally, we need a greater commitment by all stakeholders. You must make the effort to contact your legislators and to provide contact information back to the legislative chair. We also need to see if we can find support from other sectors. I look forward to continue working toward our goal. Keep in mind one state, West Virginia, achieved the Salary Supplement this year but it took six years to achieve that goal. (See ASHA Web Page article below re: West Virginia’s Success) We have just completed year three. Given the financial hardship our state faced this year following the Katrina/Rita aftermath we should be proud of our efforts despite the outcome. Please feel free to send e-mails to me with your thought s on this year’s campaign as well as your thoughts on our SPALS future efforts. Steve Harris Salary Supplement Victory in West Virginia - Persistence Pays Off(04/14/06) The West Virginia legislature recently passed legislation (S.B. 273) granting speech-language pathologists (SLPs), audiologists, and school counselors in West Virginia schools a $2,500 annual salary supplement which was signed into law on April 3rd by Governor Joe Manchin. The victory culminates a six-year effort to achieve a salary supplement for school-based SLPs and audiologists. The momentum for an advocacy effort began to build during the 1999 legislative session when the West Virginia legislature recognized and subsequently granted a $2,500 bonus to teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). The West Virginia Speech-Language-Hearing Association (WVSHA) partnered with ASHA as part of the Focused Initiatives on School-Based Programs and Services. Together, a state action plan was completed that included developing materials, fact sheets, talking points, and grassroots training for WVSHA members to utilize when meeting with legislators. Regular conference calls were held with the WVSHA advocacy committee to discuss planned activities and strategies. The partnership also built an infrastructure for a successful grassroots network. "When I fist started working on this issue, we had no way of knowing which members were in various legislative districts, and the only way to contact individuals was through phone calls," noted Connie Breza, former chair of the WVSHA advocacy committee. "We gradually developed a system of county contacts and were able to acquire a statewide Advocacy Alert e-mail system." This year's success hinged on a keen understanding of the political process, constant communication with their lobbyist, and ability to mobilize on a moment's notice the extensive grassroots network of SLPs and audiologists constituent members that had been developed over the years. Their advocacy network played a key role in building a presence in the political arena. "As WVSHA representatives met with their legislators and staff in Charleston, never once did we hear them say they hadn't heard of this bill," said Kathy Freeland, WVSHA advocacy committee co-chair. "In fact, many of the staffers stated that they had been bombarded with phone calls and e-mails from members." More importantly, building the infrastructure to sustain a political campaign and developing a strong grassroots network should also help position the state association's interests in the years to come. Above article taken from ASHA’s WEB Page 6-21-06
Legislative Alert/Update - June 12, 2006 Dear SPALS Members: The Senate Finance Committee sent HB 1 to the Senate floor late Friday afternoon without Senator Gautreaux's amendment attached. Senator Gautreaux was very upset about this and as of today he spoke with SPALS Legislative Representative, Michael Thibodeaux, indicating he is going to attempt to add the funding back in to HB1 for Act 952 at the Conference Committee. This is where the Senate and the House members meet to reconcile the differences between their two versions of HB1. I will update the Web Page as soon we know when the Conference Committee will convene and who the House and Senate Members will be for that committee. At that point we will again need everyone to send e-mails and faxes to those House and Senate members. As indicated before please let me know if you get a response from a legislator so we can update Mr. Thibodeaux. Senator Gautreaux is committed to obtaining funding for Act 952. This is a last ditch effort for the 2006 legislative session. If this is not successful we will have to determine what strategy to employ for the 2007 legislative session. It is not over yet! Keep trying and keep in touch with the SPALS Web Page for future updates. Share this information with any of your fellow SLPs and Audiologists who you think will not receive this message.. This is a very difficult time to communicate with School Based SLPS and AUDS as everyone is out for the summer. Steve Harris
Legislative Alert/Update - June 8, 2006 I spoke with SPALS legislative representative, Michael Thibodeaux, Wednesday, June 7, 2006 and he reported that the amendment to provide for the salary supplement in ACT 952 has been made by Senator D. A. Butch Gautreaux. The Senate Finance Committee is expected to send House Bill 1 (HB1), the appropriations bill, to the full Senate Friday or Saturday of this week. Thus far the feedback has been positive and the hopes are high that our amendment will stay attached to HB1 as it goes to the full Senate. If it does, it is expected to be passed by the full Senate. At that point it will go to a Conference Committee where the Senate and the House will reconcile the differences that exist between the two versions of HB1. So at this point I want to encourage everyone to continue sending e-mails, FAXES, and phone calls to the members of the Senate Finance Committee requesting support for funding of ACT 952 the salary supplement for fulltime Public School Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists who have the equivalent of Nationally Board Certified Teachers, namely those individuals with ASHA certification. Everyone should also be encouraged to send e-mails thanking Senator D. A. "Butch" Gautreaux for putting forth the amendment that provides for the funding of ACT 952. Please send this e-mail on to individuals and or SPALS regional groups you have been communicating with thus far. Remind them to go to the SPALS WEB-Page for updates as well as for e-mail addresses and phone contact numbers for members of the Senate Finance Committee. Finally stay tuned and ready to respond with e-mails to members of the Conference Committee if and when we get to that point. Keep up the communication! Feedback from the legislators on the Finance committee suggests they are getting a large number of e-mails. This is great and this is what makes it happen. Don’t let up now. Keep on Keeping on!!!! Steve Harris
Legislative Alert - May 26, 2006 House Bill One came out of committee and was sent to the House floor without Representative “Tank” Powel’s amendment adding the funds for the Speech Pathology and Audiology Salary Supplement. House Bill One will be going to the Senate Finance Committee possibly today. The Senate Finance Committee can add the salary supplement and there has been a positive response from Senator D. A. “Butch” Gautreaux indicating he may be willing to put forth the needed amendment. At this point we need everyone to contact all Senators on the Finance Committee (see list below with e-mail addresses and phone and FAX numbers) asking for support for the inclusion of the salary supplement for Nationally Certified Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists who work in a public school setting. Remind them that this legislation was passed in 2003 (ACT 952) and that funding has not yet been provided. Further, this is a matter of equity, in that School Psychologists passed a similar bill in 2003 and they have received funding and continue to do so. Attached you will find a list of the members of the Senate Finance Committee and their e-mail addresses. If you make a contact with any member of the Senate Finance Committee or any member of the Senate (There are only 39 members in the Senate) please send an e-mail to me indicating whom you have contacted and the Senator’s response. This information is vital. Our legislative consultant, Michael Thibodeaux, uses this information to develop strategy and to decide whom our allies and detractors are. It is imperative that you act now. We need a landslide of contacts. The number of contacts reported to me by members thus far has been very low. Mr. Thibodeaux, our legislative consultant, will not be effective acting alone. Legislators need to see a large number of responses if they are to consider our request. If we are not successful in getting an amendment to House bill one in the Senate Finance Committee it will be virtually impossible to meet our objective this year. If you care about this issue you must act now. On another issue you may be pleased to know that House Bill One currently includes a $1500 raise for all certified personnel (teachers, speech therapists, librarians, etc) and a $500 raise of all support personnel (secretaries, janitors, etc.). The probability of this getting through is considered very high. Senate Finance Committee Members
To call a Senator (225) 342-2040 To FAX a Senator (225) 342-0617 Link to Senate Page: http://senate.legis.state.la.us/ Link to 2006 Regular Legislative Session
Legislative Alert - 5/16/06 Just a quick update. We have an amendment to House Bill 1 by Representative Henry “Tank” Powell, so we need as many House members to contact Representative Powell to co-author the bill especially any House Appropriations Committee members of which there are 18 members. As of yesterday Mr. Thibodeaux reported to me the Speaker of the House, Representative Joe Salter, sent a letter to Representative Alario, Appropriations Committee Chair, asking him to fund our salary supplement. So... Get out and contact your representatives and ask them to co-author the bill and send e-mails, faxes and letters to Representative Powell to thank him for supporting our position and for putting forth the amendment and secondly send letters, faxes and e-mails to Speaker Salter thanking him for supporting our position. Please send an e-mail to me of any contacts you make with any legislator and what their response was. sharris@stmary.k12.la.us If you have questions please e-mail. Also, if you read the paper this morning the finance estimating committee indicates that Louisiana will have over $700 million more than previously expected for the upcoming fiscal year. That is very good news. Steve Harris To contact the representatives of your state, visit this web site: http://house.louisiana.gov/H-Reps/member-byParish-drop.htm. Click your parish name, and then you can send an email by clicking on the representative’s name, which takes you to their webpage. Then just click on the “send an email to Rep. ___,” compose your email, and send.
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